Skanda Purana — Mahesvara Khanda, Shloka 64
अनयोर्हिफलं ग्राह्यं सारता नात्र काचन । अर्धदेही च मनुजस्त्वसंस्पृश्यः सतांमतः
anayorhiphalaṃ grāhyaṃ sāratā nātra kācana | ardhadehī ca manujastvasaṃspṛśyaḥ satāṃmataḥ
From these two, only the outward “result” may be taken—there is no true essence here. And a “half-bodied” man is regarded by the good as one who should not be touched, to be avoided in rite and social propriety.
Same narrator (duplicate verse as provided) within Sūta’s discourse (deduced)
Scene: A scribe’s palm-leaf manuscript scene: the same line appears twice, while a teacher points to it, indicating ‘repeat for emphasis’; in the background, a ritual boundary at a tīrtha is shown symbolically.
FAQs
Dharma is evaluated by inner completeness and right conduct, not merely by superficial outcomes.
None is named in this verse.
An implicit rule of avoidance (asaṃspṛśyatā) concerning the ‘ardhadehī’.